Posted by Sherman in Idaho [24.32.202.166] on Sunday, July 14, 2013 at 17:16:22 :
In Reply to: need help with m-37 troop seats posted by dodgeboy [66.87.125.107] on Sunday, July 14, 2013 at 11:39:19 :
As far as I know, clear white oak was the material always used for troop seats, side racks, and bows on all the military trucks. All the oak sold in lumber yards out west is red oak, which will rot much faster. White oak smells different and is very rot resistant. I envy the guys back east who can go to their local sawmill and get whatever they want custom cut. Here, I just save the best bits from oak pallets and packing crates, which are only big enough for small stuff. If a guy had an infinite budget, teak or Honduras mahogany would be good, too, although teak is so oily it can be hard to get paint to stick to it. There was a time when they used Honduras mahogany in the mines here because it was tough and rot-proof, and sometimes they'll pull the best stuff out of a load, have it run through a planer mill and use it for woodwork in the offices. Now it's practically extinct.
Anyway, try to get white oak if you can, vertical-grain or quarter-sawn if possible, but definitely not with the pith (center of the tree) in it under any circumstances as boards with the pith in them will twist themselves in knots with changes in humidity.
Do not use galvanized bolts with white oak. There's some weird reaction between zinc and oak that stains and rots the wood quickly. Cad-plated bolts are fine. Not sure about the very thin electro-zinc coating on ordinary bolts these days. It might disappear quickly enough to not cause a problem.
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